Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the HUNGER GAMES. A few things might resemble some parts of the book but it's only to make more sense to the fiction. I'm not making any sort of profit with this story. Thank you for reading.
Author's Note Part 1: I usually like to listen to soundtracks while I write. For this chapter I took inspirations on Game of Thrones (Ramin Djawadi) – Winterfall, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion… (Harry Gregson Williams) – From Western Woods to Beaversdam, The Village (James Newton Howard) – The gravel road. Feel free to recommend others in review. Most of my inspiration for Madge come from Elle Fanning in her campaign for Lolita Lempicka. For Gale, I think more on Josh Hartnett (30 days of night and Pearl Harbor).
A few years ago…
Schools in District 12 teach only the basics: reading, writing, calculating and history. History of the well-armed and brave Capitol. The other subjects were extra-curricle. You could do cooking, music, carpentry, advanced math, physical education, arts and culture. These subjects were for the children who wanted to try for better jobs and exceeded expectations. But it was rare for children from the Seam to take lucrative positions. So, most children who applied for these subjects were from town. And the children from the Seam, once they reached the maximum age for study had only a few options. They could opt for lower and filthy posts and or join the army of Panem.
The army might not sound so bad compared to working in the mines for example, but those from District 12 joined the army were never seen again. There were rumors that they were working in another area and had no time to give the family news. But you can see in the eyes of the peacemakers an empty look as if they had suffered some kind of brainwashing. They guarantee the safety of each district. The safety of Capital against possible rebellions.
District 12 consisted of six different areas: the Seam, the merchant section, the town, the justice building, the Victors' Village, and the Hob. The Seam is located south at the lowest part of District 12. Almost 4000 people live there. The merchant section is located east and where most of the trading occurs. Mostly are food and plants. The Town is located west. It has a few houses and stores. Most products of these stores only a few can afford like fashion clothes, new books, jewelry, gourmet food and toys. Many peacemakers watch the security there.
Madge's house is at the end of the street of the Town. The Justice Building is in the center of the District near The Square. There occurs formal administration and it's where Madge's father works all day. The Victor's Village is a small village where the only alive victor of the Hunger Games lives. It's located north. And The Hob is District 12 black market. Madge doesn't know where it is. She supposes is behind the Merchant section near the Seam.
Madge is among those who possessed some kind of wealth and comfort. Her father is the mayor. Her father's father was also mayor and so on. It wasn't an election position, but a condition of honor given to the family Undersee by the Capitol for having served in wartime.
A curse, Madge believed. Being the mayor's daughter did not guarantee her the job. No, she would have to marry some rich stupid little boy and then he would be the mayor. But it will be necessary for him to assume her family name Undersee. Perhaps this is why she has not been promised yet. No rich family and too proud son would abandon their so important family name over a risking job. She was safe. For now.
Madge since childhood liked reading. At first, she would only read children's book. Her dad's library had a few other choices from laws to history books. Most history books only dated around 60 years ago and were fill with stories about how the Capitol won the war and raised all district from ashes. All lies, she thought. Not that she could out loud those thoughts about how she really felt toward the Capitol. No, she had to be a Capitol lover with her father's guests.
By the time Madge was 10 years old she had read all the good books possible available in District 12. She had to start asking for her dad to bring books from the Capitol for her. Her father, Mayor Thomas Undersee, would often travel to other districts and the Capitol to negotiate trades and participate in reunions. But the books he brought her were always about make-up, hair styles, good manners, sewing and the latest fashion in the Capitol. Not that she hated. But she would never die her hair in bright orange or tan her skin in yellow. She got bored with those books.
Her salvation came one day, when Madge was 12 years old and she started to explore the attic of her house. Nobody would ever go there. It was storage with old furniture, paintings and clothes. But the weirdest thing she saw there was a fireplace hidden in the back. It was too small and misplaced to be there. She explored further and discovered that the hole of the chimney didn't show the sky outside. It could be dangerous, she thought, to crawl such a small hole and get stuck. But she had to have her own adventures someday. So there she was crawling the chimney. It led to a very small place very near the sealing. She could even touch the tiles. Nobody could ever notice this room since the attic had a finished ceiling. In this room were at least one hundred books but many were already in poor conditions since they were receiving bad weather conditions.
Madge noticed that many of these books pre-dated the Dark Days. Many were unknown romances, comedies and dramas books. Others talked about the beginning of her country, Panem. How the fourteen remaining areas of the ancient North America survived the diseases of the world post World War VII. A world! her thoughts were thrilling. There many others countries besides hers. Many languages and cultures. But all dead. They were all dead. Weren't they? She never heard of them.
She found an old diary inside a black box. It was more preserved than all the others books. Perhaps it was meant to be the first one read of this library, she thought. The diary belonged to her great-grandfather. It told how the remaining areas of the old North America got together and formed the new country Panem. They elected an area every 5 years to be the Capitol. But one area that was elected twice in a role started to change laws to benefits only its area. It wanted to be the Capitol for more than 5 years. So the other areas started to gather and they started a war. It lasted for 17 years. Some areas started to lose too many people and made an alliance with the Capitol in exchange of power. But the remaining areas were almost winning. It was when the Capitol bombarded the area that provided weapons and shields. They lost.
Her great-grandfather describes how they were submitted to all kinds of humiliation. The Capitol started to destroy all books, paintings, statues, maps, buildings from the Old Days. The only buildings to remains were the prison buildings (Now the Justice Buildings) and the old mansions houses from the city (the Town) So he started to hide all he could and pretended to support the Capitol so that his area could survive. He fought for the wrong ideal but he guarantees it was to keep the survivals at safe. His area that was once called Opprimere started to be called District 12. The Capital killed many people older than fifty so no one could tell more stories from the Old Days to the newborns. The survivals, around 1700 people, were threatened if they spread any stories of the old days. He finishes saying that no one ever knewn about his secret library and that the Capitol was about to install a new law called the Hunger Games. 70 years ago, she thought.
Madge knew its secrets had to be prevailed. So she never told about that library to anyone of the house. She couldn't even risk asking her father about her great-grandfather. At first, she was very afraid that someone could find out about it. She considered to burn all books but that would have wasted her great grandfather sacrifices. So she did what was more reasonable for a book lover like her. She started to read the forbidden library. She couldn't stay up in the attic without lifting doubts between the maids. So once a while, she would search a preserved book and hide inside the cape of a sewing book, for example. She counted that there were only 80 books good enough to read without being brought to pieces when open.
So many issues. She first read the history books. And then books of fiction that told about magic, love, horror and drama. The ones she enjoyed the most taught her about survival skills like kinds of fighting, eatable plants, knots, animals and forests. And finally the ones she could learn and practice without lifting suspicious that taught her about psychology, memory skills, behaviors and patience. A precious lesson told her about that to fool someone about your real personality is to act exactly how that person expects from you.
So, if Madge's father expects her to be a lady alike she would just act like one.
When Madge turned 12 years old she was eligible for the reaping. That year her name entered once. When she turned 13, her name entered twice. And so on until she would reach the age of 18, the final year of eligibility when her name would go into the pool seven times. Being the mayor's daughter didn't give her any privileges. That's true for every citizen in all twelve districts in the entire country of Panem.
But there is a catch. Say you are poor and starving like her friend Katniss. She could opt to add her name more times for tesserae. She could do this for each of her family members as well. Which in fact she did. When Katniss had 12 years old her name entered in the pool four times. Every year she needed to do that.
Katniss and Madge were in the same year at school. They met when they were 12. Since neither of them really had a group of friends they ended up together a lot at school. Eating lunch, sitting next to each other at assemblies, partnering for sports activities. They rarely talk which seems to suit Katniss just fine.
Madge liked Katniss very much. However, since Katniss didn't talk much, most things she knew from Katniss came from others. She heard them in the locker corridor, the girl's bathroom and on the way home. Katniss is envied because of her closeness with an older boy from school, Gale. He is the beauty of their district. Straight black hair, olive skin, gray eyes, tall and intense. She heard only rumors that they would often go to the woods near the Seam and hunt for food. She also heard about how Katniss's mother neglected her children after her husband died almost starving them to death. Because of that, Madge one day told Katniss that her father loved strawberries but it was never available in The Merchant or in Town, so she asked Katniss to search in the Seam for her and that she would pay for them. Katniss got the hint and brings her lots of strawberries whenever she can. Madge always pays more coins than the price of the Merchant.
Enclosing all of District 12 is a high chain-link fence topped with barbed-wire loops. In theory, it's supposed to be electrified twenty-four hours a day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods. But Madge knew that the fence was only electrified a few hours per day. Mostly at lunch and dinner time when the smell of food attracts most wild animals. The Town and the Village's Victor have a different source of electricity. It's part of the Capital strategy to have the citizens divided among them.
At the age of 14, Madge decided to explore the forest surrounding District 12. She had chosen to explore the fence at house near the end of the Victor's Village. It used to have two living victors before. But old Lolerai Fairfox, the victor of the 27th Hunger Games, died before her 50th anniversary. She never had children. But her only niece now works and lives at the Mayor's House. She is Madge's old nanny, Miss Martha Fairfox. Martha once told Madge about a flaw in the fence in her aunt's big backyard and that sometimes a wild cat would appear to ask for food. Her aunt never asked anyone to fix it since the cat kept her company. As expected, the spot was still loose there in the backyard concealed by a clump of bushes.
Madge stops near the fence and take a moment to listen carefully for the hum that means the fence is live. As expected it was silent as a stone. She flattens out on her belly and slide under the three-foot stretch. Madge took with her a bottle of water, a few crackers, some old clothes and a flashlight. The flashlight was an expensive gift her dad brought her once from the Capitol. It didn't work on batteries. All Madge had to do was to press a side button a few times and the flashlight would charge alone.
At night, the forest could be very dangerous so Madge also risked to bring with her a small axe from her dad's personal weapons arsenal (she was certain he wouldn't miss it) and a kitchen knife. She read in her books that many animals are more scared of humans than humans of animals. And that they usually attack when they are frightened or have a brood to protect. Others, of course, attack because they are hungry for meat. Not the last one, she hoped.
Madge found among her great-grandfather's collection an outdated map of District 12. She could see that from the point she left from the fence if she followed straight north-west and turned right near some big rocks she would find a waterfall. The map illustrated that the waterfall was the fount of a very big lake that ended near south. Probably were Katniss would go to hunt. It took Madge almost 2 hours to get there. She certainly got lost a few times but once you find the rocks you can hear the waterfall. Since it was full moon, the area surrounding the waterfall was clear to look around. Beautiful, she thought.
The walk back was as difficult but after a few weeks Madge took less than fifty minutes to go and return. She usually would go at Sunday's dawn. Between 2am and 6am when no one at home noticed her absence. In the morning, her nanny only shook her up after 10am. During her walks, she took with her two or three books of her great-grandfathers hidden library. After a few weeks, all books were well hidden underneath a hole near the waterfall. She protected the books with plastic and a leather sheet. Above the hole she placed a large stone and planted a few bushes. The forbidden library was completed removed from her house. The remaining pieces had to be burned so no one could ever find out what was hidden in that peculiar room.
Madge not always went straight home after school. Since she had the last class schedules free on Fridays , she spent her time reading on top of a tree behind the school. It was a secluded spot and few people walked by. The tree was very high and full of branches and leaves. Nobody could see her there. Only if approached very near the tree and looked up. It was a perfect spot except one time when a young couple stopped by to talk.
Great, she thought, now I have to hear them making out under my favorite tree. If she did not say anything or make any noise soon she will have to wait them make kisses noises and other disgusting noises and then at some point they would finally go somewhere more hidden.
Looking down Madge saw that the girl was known. Primrose was the younger sister of Katniss. She was very like her mother, dark blond and deep blue eyes, and seemed to have developed a lot since she first her. She seems annoyed to be there.
"Prim, you know we're best friends, right?" Said the boy who had his back to the point of view of Madge. "I know you may not think of myself as a lover but for a while now that I think about you every day before going to bed and when I wake up. I do not know how to tell you better than that but I think I like you. "
He thinks? Oh boy. This isn't going to end well, Madge thought. Terrible way to ask someone on a date.
Primrose looked surprised but at the same time seemed to have expected this. "I'm sorry but I do not consider you more than a friend, Rory. I have no intentions of having a loving relationship with you. "
Rory? Madge looks down trying to catch more details. The only Rory she knew was Rory Hawthorne. He was one of the younger brothers of Gale. Then comes Vicky and Posy.
Rory seemed to chew every word in his mind and what would be expected of a boy to retire after such a denial, Rory seems insulted. "Prim, I love you. I think you're wonderful, sweet and beautiful and I think you should consider my offer."
Prim further insulted than Rory yells at him "What offer? To be your girlfriend? Your property? No! It's not what I want with you Rory. We're just friends". She is about to cry.
"Well, I must say that if this is how you think maybe we should not be friends anymore"
Cheap blow of Rory. Now it's Prim's turn to be angry. "Great! It's better that way. I would never date you Rory. You're immature, stupid and dumb. You always had potential but never explored. I will never fall in love with you". She goes away crying. He still seems in shock with the level of the conversation.
"You know, I think you should have stopped when she said that only considers you as a friend." Madge could not resist saying. It was a sarcastic advice.
Rory jumps. He looks around and then up. He did not expect someone up on the tree. Especially the daughter of the mayor of District 12. "And what do you know, princess? Your stupid invisible boyfriend?". But she wasn't insulted. She just turned to the book in her hands and continued to read.
After a few moments, he absorbed the events. "I'm sorry I don't mean to be rude with you. I didn't know someone else here. Didn't mean to interrupt your reading" He is looking at her. She got the impression that he could see far more of her than she could see of him.
"No problems, Rory. You seem to be a good person", she says deploying her cutest smile. "I'm sure she will come around".
He acknowledged the compliment with a slight nod. Within the blink of an eye Gale's brother was gone, probably after Prim.
Madge sights. Young love. She might never feel it. Or so she thought.
Author's Note Part 2: Ok, if you liked this far, please review. Tell me what you think about Prim and Rory. About Madge finding a hidden library (not the most original idea, I know…). And again, tell which songs you listen while reading. I'm a huge fan of movie and anime soundtracks.